Delaney: Trump’s remarks on accepting intel from foreign entity show he’s not ‘one-quarter of the man’ McCain was

Democratic presidential hopeful and former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) slammed President Trump’s recent comments that he would listen if a foreign entity offered negative information on a political opponent, and said the president wasn’t “one-quarter of the man” the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was. 

“It’s un-American. I mean that’s the really simple way of thinking about it. It’s un-American. It’s un-patriotic. I think it’s against the law,” Delaney said Thursday on ABC’s “The View.”

“This is an example of, if he was one-quarter of the man Sen. McCain was, we would never have to have this conversation,” he continued, addressing McCain’s daughter and the show’s co-host Meghan McCain. 

2020 hopeful @JohnDelaney calls Pres. Trump’s comments to @GStephanopoulos saying he would listen if foreigners offered intel on opponents “un-American.”

“If he was one-third the man Sen. McCain was, we would never have to have this conversation.” https://t.co/nRa1YKs23Y pic.twitter.com/1BVAQvaaBR

— The View (@TheView) June 13, 2019

Trump told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos that he would listen if a foreign entity offered damaging information on a political opponent. 

“I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening,” Trump said in the interview that aired on Thursday. “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI.”

Trump defended the comments on Twitter on Thursday, saying that his contacts with foreign governments were part of his job. 

“I meet and talk to ‘foreign governments’ every day. I just met with the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Whales, the P.M. of the United Kingdom, the P.M. of Ireland, the President of France and the President of Poland. We talked about ‘Everything!'” Trump said in a tweet. 

“Should I immediately call the FBI about these calls and meetings?” he continued. “How ridiculous! I would never be trusted again.”

While Democrats have come out in force to condemn the remarks, Republicans have been more muted in their responses. 

“No one who is stepping forward,” Delaney said when asked whether there was anyone in the GOP willing to come out against Trump’s remarks. “No one who has the courage of their conviction to actually step forward, and say the right thing. Now is a moment where leaders need to step forward whether you’re Democrat, Republican, Independent, it doesn’t matter, and say it is un-American for a sitting president to make an offer to collude with a foreign government.” 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Thursday that Americans should stand united on not allowing a foreign government to interfere in elections but defended Trump. 

“I’ve watched this president stand up against these foreign entities and he would not allow any foreign country to interfere in our elections,” he said.